Week 27

I'm now on my third and last trimester! By God's grace, my second trimester went by smoothly and baby is growing quickly but as gently as possible inside my tummy. Here's a rundown of what my pregnancy was like through the previous weeks.  

Week 18. I was scheduled to see a maternal fetal specialist. They are experts for high risk pregnancy. Although my pregnancy wasn't really considered high risk, we found out something quite unexpected. Early on the pregnancy, on my first OB appointment (week 7) I was told by my doctor that I was supposed to have twins!!! Unfortunately, she only found one heart beat thus only one baby has fully developed. I'm not going to lie, it broke my heart a bit. But the doctor reassured me that I did nothing wrong to harm the other baby. I did more research about it and I found out that what I had was called the vanishing twin syndrome. Most moms back in the day probably didn't know they had multiple babies that vanished early in their pregnancy. But because of advanced ultrasounds that we have now, it could be frequently identified. By God's grace and mercy, the maternal fetal specialist told me that the fetal tissue of the vanished twin was reabsorbed and the one that was left was perfectly fine and healthy. What a relief! I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I trust God that He is in control. Twins could have been great but I'm sure it would be definitely challenging as well. What truly matters is that Alan and I are blessed to have a child.

Week 19. I had my anatomy scan. It was the level 2 ultrasound where they took measurements of the baby, check baby's major organs, feet, hands, fingers and also detected baby's gender. The scan went well and baby was growing at a steady rate.  As for the gender, we were so thrilled to find out that we were having a baby girl!!! We had a gender reveal party that weekend which was organized by our small group in CFC. If you want to see the video, click here--> The Ferns Gender Reveal Party

It's a girl!

Week 20.  I start to feel baby's kicks.  She's so active and could feel her movements especially when I am just sitting in the couch or laying in bed. It just feels surreal whenever I feel her move. What a glorious thing to grow a human being inside my belly. Amazing!

Week 20

Week 23. We had our hospital tour. We were informed where we would go during labor, where the visitors would wait, what we would need to bring in the hospital, what hospital amenities we could enjoy, and so on. It's helpful to know all these things so we could be better prepared and stress free when labor comes. We scheduled a birthing class and a breastfeeding class too in the following months.   

Week 24. Alan bought a new car! Not exactly pregnancy related but I guess this purchase is in preparation for our baby! Our 2006 Camry stopped working for the second time and so got towed and repaired again. This time it was the alternator. The other time we got stranded, the starter and motor mount had to be replaced. We just couldn't imagine getting stranded somewhere while baby is in the car. Definitely not good. We just see it fit that we get a second reliable car for baby. Welcome to the family Rose!

    

Food cravings. I have been into making smoothies out of fresh fruits and vegetables. I guess that's the reason why people recognize my glow. hehe. My skin has cleared up and noticed that my hair is extra shiny! Although to be honest, sometimes I do give in to unhealthy food too. I'm only human lol.

Strawberries, mangoes, banana, spinach and coconut water

Weight. I have gained 12 lbs (as of week 24) since the beginning of my pregnancy. For me, that's quite a lot! I'm only 5 feet tall so I'm only expected to gain another 16 lbs more. But I'm totally fine with it. All for the sake of the baby.

Week 24

Sleep. Sleeping was quite challenging. I was advised to sleep on my side and had to refrain from sleeping on my back Sleeping on my side caused me sore shoulders. I have also developed a carpal tunnel on my right wrist so when I sleep on my right side, it makes it worst. Thankful to my ever so loving husband because he helped me resolve my sleeping dilemma. He went online to look for great deals and got me a memory foam mattress topper and pillows. That made sleeping so much better. Thanks Daddy!

Week 26. Our dear friends from CFC pulled off a surprise baby shower for Alan and I. Please allow me to have some emo moment right now. Must be the prego hormones. We must have done something good to deserve this overwhelming love from them. We truly felt God's goodness in our life and God's validation of love to us through all of these amazing people. He put the right people at the right time in our life. Napakaswerte namin sa kaibigan! We loved everything from the party props, program, games, food, gifts and their heartwarming messages. We haven't bought a single thing for the baby and we are grateful that they generously gifted us with things that we will need for her. We can never thank them enough! Okay, enough of the rambling.. Here are some of the pictures from that memorable event! (Thanks to our dear friend Leah for these photos we will forever cherish!)

Can't believe we only have 3 months to go. I will surely miss this sweet time bonding with my baby in my tummy. But we can't also wait to see her, kiss her and hold her in our arms. 

Till next pregnancy update!

xoxo,

Joselle